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Recession played role in 10,000 suicides across Europe, N. America

At least 10,000 suicides across Europe and North American between 2008 and 2010 have been linked to the recent recession, according to recent study findings published in The British Journal of Psychiatry.

Aaron Reeves, PhD, of the department of sociology at the University of Oxford, and colleagues examined suicide data released by WHO covering 24 European countries and two North American countries to determine whether the recent recession could be linked to suicide.

Aaron Reeves

Researchers found that the downward trend of suicide rates in the European countries reversed with the start of the economic crisis in 2007 and rose by 6.5% by 2009. Between 2007 and 2010, suicide rates in Canada rose by 4.5% and by 4.8% in the United States.

“There has been a substantial rise in suicides during the recession, greater than we would have anticipated based on previous trends,” Reeves said in a press release. “A critical question for policy and psychiatric practice is whether suicide rises are inevitable. This study shows that rising suicides have not been observed everywhere, so while recessions will continue to hurt, they don’t always cause self-harm. A range of interventions, from return to work programs through to antidepressant prescriptions, may reduce the risk of suicide during future economic downturns.”

The main risk factors leading to suicide during economic downturns are job loss, home repossession and debt.

In some countries, antidepressant prescription rates also increased. In the United Kingdom between 2003 and 2007, there was an 11% rate of prescriptions increasing to 19% between 2007 and 2010.

David Stuckler

Researchers also found that each $100 spent for return to work programs decreased the risk of suicide by 0.4%.

Although rates in most European countries rose, the suicide rates in Sweden and Finland remained stable while they decreased in Austria.

“Suicides are just the tip of the iceberg,” study researcher David Stuckler, PhD, MPH, said in the release. “These data reveal a looming mental health crisis in Europe and North America. In these hard economic times, this research suggests it is critical to look for ways of protecting those who are likely to be hardest hit.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.